Car and housing



April 14, 1931. A. KEEN CAR AND HOUS ING Filed Sept. 14, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l T. A. KEEN CAR AND HOUSING April 14, 1931.

Filed Sept. 14,.1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 14, 1931. E 1,800,864

CAR AND HOUSING Filed Sept. 14, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 14, 1931. KEEN 1,800,864

CAR AND HOUSING Filed Sept. 14, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ZLfuinew [7w 67% 2 Patented Apr. 14,1931

UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICER enemas A. KEEN, or BUTT MQNTANA, AssIeNon T HANNAH M. sMITH, LOF

CHICAGO, ILLI-NoIs v CAR AND HOUSING Application filed September 14, 1928. serial flo. 305,956. b

The present inventionrelates to dog racing tracks and to the equipment used'in connection therewith, particularly to a means for propelling a mechanical hare and the housing and other elementsused in association with such propelling means.

In the past, and at the present time, and until the discovery of the present invention, the meansfor propelling a mechanicalhare in successfully operated tracks has generally comprised a car adapted to run upon two tracks, the whole car except for an arm carrying the hare being concealed within a. housing. At one side ofthe housingthere is a longitudinal opening, andthrough this opening the arm just referred to projected.

At the end of the arm was the hare.

Such apparatus required special motors, for it is necessary to maintain the mechanical hare at a speed of about forty-five miles per hour. Field exciting batteries were required. Special and involved apparatus was necessary for braking the car when a race was completed, it being the proper and customary practice to carry the. mechanical hare through an openingin the housing and out of sight of the pursuing hounds.

fIn addition'to the great- Weight and considerable bulkwhich a hare-propelling car 39 of this character possessed, the installation ofa track using such apparatus was a rela-. tively slow and'te'dious proposition. It was anexpensive installation also in that it was necessary to excavate the entire circumference of the track, and it was alsonecessary to provide a housing of'a most expensive coii'struction, for allkof the support therefor hadto be adjacent the outer periphery of the track. With the bulk of the housing considered, thisinade a ditficult task.

In the present type of track, the entire mechanism is greatly improved in that a much lighter-hare propelling car is provided,

a lesser current than is ordinarily required is used, the housing about the propelling car is simplified and its bulk reduced, and its installation :made a relatively simple matter of short duration and which can be conducted at a very low cost. The control of the car-may now he had fromthe center of the track, and'the braking apparatus is "rela tively simple and requires no great length ottrack for the successful stopping of the :ar without undue jarring. p

Further than that the height of the en closing housing is much reduced so that greater visibility of the track maybehad while the hare, is making the course and the hounds following the hare.- The object-ions to a high housing which sometimes obscured the vision is fullymet by a new housing which in no way interferes with visibility of the'hounds atany point on the track,

Having briefly outlined the present state of the art, and theimprovements which are effected by the present invention, it is proper to recite the objects of the present invention, among which are the followingprovisions:

A new, improved, and lighter car for propelling a mechanical hare;

Simplified car construction whereby higher efficiency is had in the propulsion of a mechanical hare about a track;

A new arrangement of rails in relation to a car operating thereon producing a marked improvement in the behavior ofa mechanical rabbit and reducing the current consumed in the operation of the device and simplifying the electrical and mechanical construction of the car;

,An improved means for controlling a car carrying themechanical rabbit and offering means for controlling such car from within the oval of the track;

A simplified housing construction for a car conveying a mechanical rabbit, including unique and novel means forsupplying to the motor driving the car electrical current;

Relieving a track of the necessity for installation of local power lines and making it possible to operate successfully upon storage batteries; 1

Improving the housing of'a track so that its construction is made relatively cheap, the

structure beingsuch' that itgmay be rapidly installed;

Simplifying the car and track construction of a dog. track so that the car may be effectivelystopped in a relativelyshort distance veyor car;

, A novel type of electrically propelled con- New means for obscuring the hare at the completion of a race;

An improved-track structure whereby the fence is moved to; conceal the hare and to stop the dogs atthe close of a race; and

being broken away used to indicate similar parts.

is oval.

Simplifying the operation of a dog racing course. f These, and such other ob ects as may here's inafter appear, are obtained by the novel constructlon, combination, and arrangement of the several elements which constitute the embodiments of the invention"illustrated in' Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a different type. of housing; r v Figure 7 is a fragmentary plan View of a track showing a modified structure including ,the novel gate forming a partfof the fence hereinabove mentioned; i s

Figure 8 is an elevation alongthe line 8 t; of Figure 7; I 1

Figure 9 is an elevation and sectional view along the line 9-9 of Figure-7 and V Figure 10 is an elevation and sectional view along thelin'e 1010 ofFigure 7.

Throughout the specification and description of the invention which follows, and in the drawing, like. referencecharacters are Figure 1 is a layout, more or less schematically illustrative of a conventional dog rac ing trackwith'thepreseut apparatus installed. Atone side is a grand stand 10, this being'upon the outside of the track 11 which A section of the housing about the outer side of the track 11 is broken" away at 12 to show the general position of the mechanical lure carrying car therein. A. stubtrack 13 toreceivet-he car at the close of a ace is also shown m Figure 1, together with the switch la for opening the main track to the stub-track, together with a door 15-which is adapted to close over the lure after the .car has goneupon the stub-track 13.

In Figure 1 is a housing or stand lfi'which. may be the field udges house and which may be used for numerous'purposes in connection with the operationjofthe race-track. In the housing 16 may be placed suitable storage batteries 17 whereby to supply elect-romotive force to the motor car, there being suitable control means (not shown) "within the housing, or at any suitable point about the track, or at the end of a cable which is convenient to a field judge in the ovalof the track, whereby the 'e-lectromotive force. flowing tothe motors in the car may be Controlledf Normaly, the best place for such control means is within the 'housinglfireferred to or adjacent thereto. Such housing may be disposed as is shown or it may be placed in any 1 other' position within the oval of the track or if desiredjexternal to the track. 7

7 In Figure 2" which shows a section-of one form ofhousing and an end viewof the lure propelling car in elevation, there i right post 20,fgenerally'aneight inch by'eigh't inch which is suitablysunk into the ground and which may be secured in the ground by cement or otherwise when desired.

As the housing is relatively low, the eight inch by. eight inch uprightsmay extend well above the housing proper to provideposts between which is strung mesh} wire fencing so that there will beno opportunity for the dogs to jump outside thetrack into'the grand stand or elsewherc. V s

At the base of said uprightsQO and dis; posedupon the ground is a similar heavy beam, eight inches by twelve inches, and designated 22, upcnwhich rail 23 is disposed. The uprights20 are spaced about the track at regulated spaced distances, and-it is is an up;

usual and customary in'thdconstructionJof 1 the track housingfltogdispose two! or more planks 21 longitudinally between thepost's 20. .A relatively light piece of material as a one inch by twelveinch may beeinployedfor this purpose. 5 This" shields theflback of the housing and prevents contact with the electri- -al conduits forming aipart thereof Disposed above therail supporting member is .a second. rail supporting, member 25 which. may be an eight 1 inchlby eight inch beam. Upon said beam 25-is disposed a second rail26' which isllike'raili but maybe lighter. liailsQSQaaidformfthe conduits ofthe electrical system used to operate the lure conveying car V i mgmember2 5 is ashelf or apren 27 which may be. of anyrdesira-ble form, it being the object of such device 27 toiproject outsufiiciently far that rams which may fallgduring the'course of a race or at other times will 'be'prevenlted lfroin falling upon the upper frail which. is

connectedth i the positive; side of 7 liestorage" batteries-'17. l fi 3 JXSQCOIIQ ifm oftrack housingfis shown in FigureftigfIn this figure, the ho'usin'g is shown as an obliquely disposed 'oneinch by twelve inchtop 27 andthe lneinber 25 1sil pporting the uper rail 26 andthe'uprights20" are sawed or "cut obliquely so th'atithey have Projecting'outwardly from saidrailcarrycalled the railblockfand up'oirthis the lower rail 23 is disposed, Of course, the'spacer block :28 and rail block 22 are both firmly so cured to the upright As is shown from Figure 1, a switch'l4is provided whereby therails and 26 may bemoved froma'position pointing around the track to a position to permit of a eontinuous pair of rails 23 and'26 directly onto the stubtrack 13. Suitable electrical connectionsin such anarrangement are employed but are not here illustrated. j

A door 15 such as is disclosed in a number of the OWenP. Smith patents on dog racing amusements may be provided on the track housing to close up an opening insuch housing permitting the rabbit to pass therethrough. "\Vl en such door is cllosed it conceals the rabbit as is the usual practice and as illustrated in the several Smith patents just mentioned. a

On the stubtrack 13,a braking effect is obtained for tlie lure carryingfcar by spacing the rails 23' and '26 closer together as the end of the stub-track is approached. As the car,

shortly to be 'described,'is of relatively light weight, it maybe quickly impeded by'this means and brought to a standstill in a very small fraction of a second without undue strain upon the car itself or upon the stubtrack supports. 7

Such a means for stopping car is c'ornmon in various" forms of amusement devices involving cars; such devic'es including roller f coasters and the like. Abraking 'devic'eof this character neednot be described here. Of course; an adjustable means for applying the compression pressure used upon the rails 23 and 26 to stop the car is contem lated and this, when "desired, maybe manually controlled.

As can readily be seen froman examination of Figures 2, 3, 4, andfigthe car 81 is of relatively simple structure. Itcomprises primarily twoside plates or frame members 32wl1ich are held together in aligned parallelism. At the end of saidside frames 32 are aXles'33 which are suitably secured to the frame members 32 and upon which the main or drivingwheels' 34 of the apparatus are disposed. j 1

At their tops the side plates 32 are formed to provide sleeves 35 supporting a projecting arm 36 which is adapted to carry a mechanicallu re37 such projectingarm 36 being of the usual type employed in the 5 successful mechanical luresf tit the present time.

Suchattachment of the'arm 36 is obtained 7 by m'achi'ne screws 38 or otherwise, and at the free end ofthe'ar'm3'6 therabbit 37 is fastened in anydesirable way. :The Tother end of the rabbit supporting arm "36' projects inwardly" to provide an axle 39 for the revolution of an upper wheel 40 of the car carriage.

Upon said projecting shaftor axle-39 is 'a bushing or "sleeve 41 of insulatory material which providesia bearing for the revolution of said upper-wheel 46. Any suitable fastening for such insulatory sleeve 41 whereby it may besecured to said lure arm is contemplated. a i

lt isdesirable to place intermediate the said wheel 40 and the adjacent side frame 32' of the carriage an insulating disc 42 so that there canbeno possibility of spark over or short circuit through the carriage.

Any suitable means of electrical'connection may be arranged intermediate said up per Wheel 40 and one binding post43o'f a motor 44 which is shown disposed interme diate said side members 32 and firmly secured thereto by bolts 45 to preventdisplacement.

Said motor 44 may be of any suitable form and in the present instance is a low voltage direct current inotor adapted' to be driven by storage batteries. The inotor'44isjadapted todrive a shaft 46 carrying a bevel gear 47, which bevel gear is in mesh withsecond gear 14 8;forining apartofa sleeve '49 upon one. of the "driving wheels34. Y'Said driving wheel 34, inaddition, has a sprocket 50i1pon the sle ve and about which "a chain 51 moves, the chain 51 connecting to the other driving wheel 34 which" is providedwith a cooperating socket 52. Thewlatter driving Wheel 34 is devoid of a sleeve on gearing.

Any suitable means may 'beused for'electrically connecting a second binding post 43 of the inotorf44to the driving wheels 34 so that the electrical circuit may be from the batteries 17 to a conduit54, totlie upper rail 26, throughthe upper guiding' and' trolley wheel 40, tothe motor 44, from the motor 44 toadrivingwheel 34, to the lower andsupporting rail 23, and through aconduit 55 back to the storage batteries 17. The current control means sup-plied will be such that the speed of themotor 44 and likewise the speed to the car may be accelerated ordecreased as occasion requires.

qiiitable collars 56 are supplied upon'the axles 33 to maintain the driving wheels '34 in proper position and tokeepsaidwheels in alignment. Said collars56 also'provide for the proper assembly of the device and the adjustment of the gears employed. 4 j

Bydisposing themotor withits axisot' revolutiomparallel to the direction of the travel of the car, a inost compact caris prorail, the. horizontal position of the. arm sup vided.- .The direct "gearingaof the motor to one drivingwheel with chain and sprocket connection tothe second'driving wheel from the first also. simplifies the structure; and per.- mits ;the driving wheels to adjust the differ ential between them without involving the motor as would not be thefcase were both driving wheels connected directly to the motor. 4 c a V 1 A compact car of the character disclosed maybe readily operated "on a single ground portingtheilurebeing'easily maintainable by theuse of the upper or trolley rail. [Altos gether the device is "highly effective and ex ceedingly simple to build'a'nd; toinstall.

'In Figures 7 8, 9 and 10, a novel gate adapted tobe used with the hereinbefore described car is illustrated in conjunction With a differently disposed braking means which may also The employedin connection therewith.

. In all'd-og races, it is necessary tc remove the rabbit or mechanical lure from view at the close of the race, otherwise the dogs would continue to run thereafter and should they overtake it, they would destroy the hare.

In some.devices',"side tracks or eirtra loops, are-employed for the purpose of taking the rabbit fromthe vision of the dogs. In other devices, the beam upon which the'r alobitcis carried is made to swing beneath the housing and in alignment with the direction of the car fforthe purpose'of hiding the rabbit; In the first embodiment of the present invention herein discussed, a side orstub trackis used.

c In the present instance, the hare-carrying 7 car, is relativelylight, and'a simple and efii-i I cient braking means may be employed there with in close association with afdevice adapted to bed-rawn across the race-course to irnpede the progress of the dogs, andto obscure their vision of :the hare, it being necessaryto provide in sucha device a'mechan sm allow;

ing thelure topass'thereby or therethrougi but thereafter completely obscuring the rabbit from the view of the pursuing dogs. I

c It lSzllSUfll' and customary on dog. racing courses. to provide an obscuring means goperable ata po1ntad acent what may be called the first turn in the track; This isja convenient-position for the disposition of the pres- "ent device, was itallows ample timefor the :dogs. to slow down, after the judges. stand has been passed and before the barrier across the tr'ack isf reached, it being presumed that "the finish 1111mm be dispos d at a poi'nt substantially. midway the length of" straight stretch from which the first turn is made; 1

. Th'e gate arranged to swing across the track and the brake for stopping the car-are I preferablyin-juxtaposition to one another,

and for a matter ofconvenience, the gate may comprise a part or section of. the inner rail tsoesee or fence with which dog courses are generally surrounded.

In Figures 7 to I prises a sectionalmember forming a portion of the inner fence 70, one section of the gate 71 being pivoted at 72 adjacent'to or upon a post 73 insucl1 fence 70, the othersection I 74: be ng sprlng pivoted to the first section,

71 and being free to be swung across the track in an" arc when unfolded like a knife to reach the opposite side thereof. a c I T Such gate comprising. sections 71 and 7 4 is preferably of a material obscuring view, but need not be excessively heavy in'th'atitlis not expected that it will be subjecte'clto seri ous strains. As" a rule, the dogs, at the close of a race, will 'dofno more than brush against it ifthey strike the gate; at all. If its momentum is too great for itto stop andit'is n danger ofcrashing nto' a'barrier, almost invariably a dog willhurdle a fence, 111st as 10, inclusive, the gate comit would. the inner fence or the outer fence.

Such gate, 71 and 4,therefore should be of I a sufiicient height to discourage hurdling but not of such a great height that in an emergency a dog would crash intoit ratherthan attempt to clear it; v V 1 Any suitable pivoting device 72 maybe .us ed at;the end of section 71' attachedto the post 73 forming apart of the inner fence 7Q. A lever 75 is disposed on section 'Zland-such lever is impin ed bya spring. m'ember'fZG se cured tofence 'TOJand, which is adapted to urge thejgate into closed position, that is, in a-folded position along the track.

a horizontal plane partlyethereacross is a gate 7 which islnnged to and across an opening n said shorter section and which trap doorhas as. a part'ther-eo f a pivoted or hingedtrlgger 7 8. This depends from the lower edge of the door 77.

sumes. a vertical position and its free end rests upon thefground, whereby said-trap 'dooris proppedopen until some object defleeting the trigger 7 S releases the trap door ,77; whereupon said. trap; door drops to 3 a vertical plane-and: provides a solid section of gate extending across the track.;

As an incidenttdliftingfthe trap door to"ashorizontalposition, the trigger 7 8 121s- Inn : As the ca f passes ound the track; at the cioseofa race, itwill approach the gate-sect on'74.-- The sectionsfl'l and Mare-drawn across. the track by manual operation after 1 the do shave started, and this operation is gener: lly performed by a field judge or an assistant located in or near the control box 16 at the center of the track. By pulling upon a cable 79 which passes about lug or pulley 8O anchored in the oval or fieldwithin the track, the gate section 71 is pulled away from the inner rail 'an'dacross the track. another cable 81 which is secured to a lever 82 upon section 7 4, the latter section 7 4: may be drawn across the track until the free end of the sectional gate impinges the wire or railing on the outer rail 83 of the track.

Conj'ointly and by the employment of a third cable 84. which passes about a pulley anchored upon the smaller section 7 4 of the gate, the trapdoor 77 is opened, the opening of such door allowing the pivoted trigger 78 to become set upon the ground to hold the door 77 'open pending the unseating of the trigger 77 as an incident to a hire or hire arm carried by the car passing through the open space provided by elevating said trap door 77. The instant the car and arm shall have unseated the trigger 78, the trap door 77 drops to a vertical plane, falling in an arc in the direction "of motion of the car. The operator at the center of the tr acl'r, in the meantime, has of course, released all tension upon the cable 84 employed for elevating the, trap door 7 7.

WVith the passing of the mechanical lure through said trap doc-r7 7 and the disappearance from View of the hare conjoint-1y with brought about by the stopping of the car by dogs which have completed the race will approach close to but ordinarily not beyond the gate sections 71 and 74 which are drawn across the track. Here the dogs upon stopping will be leashed by attendants, there always being one attendant for each dog as is conventional, and thereafter the dogs will be returned under leash to the paddock judges quarters, after which the dogs will be returned to their kennels.

Preparatory to the next race, the cable 79 which has been used to pull the gate 71 across will under the urge of spring 76 fall back to form a section of rail 70, cable 81 being released to allow section 7 4 to fold over section 71. Of course, cable 81 may be so disposed, as shown, that as an incident to moving and releasing section 71, there will be a conjoint unfolding from and folding thereagainst of section 74.

In order to quickly stop a car in a section of the housing in proximity to said gate, a section of the upper rail 26 may be pivoted. Said section 90 may comprise a rail material substantially identical with that employed 7 for the conduit rail 26, or it may be especially formed and constructed for this particular tion of track wi 1 be quickly stopped because of the resistance to its further linear travel brought about by sa d springs 93 nnpressing their force upon said rail section 90.

Successful stopping of a car may be had in a relatively short distance by this arrangement and without a great jar upon the car. As the space between rails 23 and 90 decreases, as the springs are approached, the momentum of the car is rapidly and regularly reduced, the car coming to a full stop before the endoi short rail 90 is attained. i

The arrangement herein illustrated and described causes a car to remain locked in the position attained by it when the brake becomes elt'ective forthe force of the car is suflicient to spread therails 23 and 90 to a degree that the upper rail section 90 will be sub stantially parallel with the lower rail 23, thus doing away with any tendency of the car to rebound under the urging influence of the the discontinuance of the noise of the motor spl'mgs When it is desired to release the car for further propulsion under its own power, a judge orother operative who may be disposed at the center of the track or in any other convenient place, may pull upon a cable 94 which is adapted to pass around a pulley 95 disposed upona post 96 adjacent to theouter rail 53 of the track such pulling force being adapted to elevate the upper rail section 90 until it becomes parallel to the lower rail 23 and ceases thereatter to provide a narrow and impeding section of track.

1. In a device adapted to propel a mechanical lure about a race-course,triangularthe track is released to free section 71 which ly disposed Wheels adapted to engage rails disposed one above the other and in different parallel ve'rti cal planes, a motor for driving one of saidwheels, andmfeans for energizing said 'motor through another wheel.

2. In a device adapted to propel a mechanical lure about a race-course and to ride upon vertically spaced rails, said rails being in different vertical but parallel planes upper and lower wheels intermediate said rails, a motor for driving said device, said motor being adapted to actuatea wheel upon one rail, and means for energizing said motor through said other rail and other wheel.

3. A carriage adapted to propel a *meclianical lure and comprising frame members, an arm for supporting said mechanical lure upon sald frame members and pro ect1ng therefrom to form an axle for a wheel, a motor supported upon said frame, and driving wheels driven by saidmotor. v

4. A carriage adapted toipropel a mechanical lure and comprising frame members, driving wheels in association therewith, an arm for supporting a mechanical lure upon said frame members and projecting to form an axle for a guide wheel, and a motor supported upon and actuating said driving wheels, said motor being geared to one of said wheels and the other thereof being connected to the first mentioned driving wheel by afchain and sprockets.

5. A carriage adapted to propel a mechanical lure and comprising spaced apart frame members, an arm for supporting a mechanic cal lure upon said frame members and projecting to form an axle for a guide wheel, cross/members between said frame members, driving wheels j ournalled on said cross members, and a. motor for said driving wheels intermediate said frame members.

' 6. A carriage adapted to propel a mechanical lure and comprising spaced apartframe members, an arm for supporting a mechanicomprising spaced apart side members adapt- 7 ed to support an arm having at one end a mechanical lure, sald arm having a short'extenslon upon the opposite end to provide a support for a wheel, a trolley and guide ,7 wheel thereon, driving wheels intermediate.

said frame members, a motor intermediate-. said frame members, and means for c-onnecting said driving wheels and-said motor.

8. A car for conveying a mechanical lure driving wheels intermediate said frame members and uponthe opposite'side of said frame member adjacent said trolley and guide wheel,- a motor upon the other of said; frame members, and means for connecting said driving wheels andsaidmotor.

10. A new and novel mechanical lure comprising a rabbit, a supporting arm therefor, frame members for holding'said supporting arm, atrolley at the opposite end of said sup-c porting arm, axlesintermediatesaid frame members, driving wheels. upon said axles, a

motor, and means for translating the motion of said motor to said driving wheels.

11. A new and novel mechanical lure com-r;

prising a rabbit, asupporting arm therefor, frame members for holding said supportlng arm,,a trolley at the opposite end of said sup- 1 porting arm and adapted to engage a guide rall, axles intermedlatesaid frame members, drlving wheels upon said axles, a motor upon one ofsaid frame members, and means for translating the motion of said motor to said driving wheels.

e '12. A new and novel mechanicallure comprising a rabbit, a supporting armtherefor, frame members for holding said supporting arm,axles intermediate said frame members,

an upper guide and trolley Wheel upon the opposite end of said supporting arm and adjacent one of said frame members, driving wheelsupon said axles and in close proximity to the last mentioned frame member, a motor secured to the other of said frame mem- ,bers, and means for translating the motion of said motor tosaid driving wheels, said driving Wheels forming a part "of the electrical circuit to and fromsaid motor. i

THOMAS A. KEEN,

comprising spaced apart, side members adapted to support an arm'havmg atone end a mechanical lure, said arm having-a short extension upon its opposite end to provide e I a bearing for a wheel, a trolley and guide wheel thereon, driving wheels intermediate said frame members and adjacent to' said trolley wheel, a motor intermediate said frame 'members and adjacent to said trolley':

wheel, a motor intermediatesaid frame members and mounted upon the side member away from said wheels, and means for connecting said driving wheels and :said motor.

9. A car for conveying a mechanical lure comprising frame members adapted to support an arm having at one end a mechanical lure and at its other end a bearing for a wheel, a trolley and guide wheel thereon, 

